PRolog!

This blog examines developments in communication technology and related policy and planning issues in a variety of contexts.It further addresses concepts of digital media, types and diffusions of digital media, and relative effects and appropriations of new media as related to PR, Corporate Intercultural Communication, Politics and Economy.

17.05.2011

“Most
companies today…understand that in the 21st century an organisation
must be a citizen of the community in
every respect and accept its role as an agent for social change in the
community.”

–
Seitel (2007) about Corporate Citizenship

A. Can borderless communication drive
responsibility?

As
society has made a move into the 21st century, one of the most
important questions to be asked is what efforts will be undertaken to define
and maintain strong relationships between organisations and communities.
Community relations can be defined as a function that identifies an
organisation’s mission and evaluates public attitudes in order to establish and
maintain mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and the
communities they operate in.

However,
new technological devices that further global interconnectedness and
“borderless communication” (Flew, 2008, p.25) are increasingly shedding light
on organisational ethics and their approach to corporate social responsibility.
As stakeholders become increasingly technologically savvy and gain knowledge of
business practices online, multinational organisations progressively have to
prove their trustworthiness and reliability, not only in monetary terms, but
also with regard to their social identity. Therefore, public relation
practitioners have to develop and maintain effective relationships with
organisations, key publics and audiences within the community through engaging
both parties to participate and interact with each other.

B. Community as term for
creative tension

There
are various ways in defining the notion of community. A wide spread connotation
of community is a geographical one – a village, a state, or a nation. Plaisance
states, “the Internet has allowed the cultivation of new, interest-based
communities that transcend geography in unprecedented ways” (2009, p.200).
Thus, it seems that everybody thinks of the term in different ways.

However,
the accepted opinions fail to resolve the notion that community is a rather
loaded concept in ethical thinking in general and socially responsible acting
in particular. For instance, Aristotle in his Politics thought about community not only in terms of cooperation,
but also with a view to conflict. He disagreed with Plato’s notion of
collective identity because “it pushes a goal of eliminating social tension
created by heterogeneity” (Yack, 1993, p.30). Applying this notion to the
concept of community relations, it seems obvious that organisations can only
take an active role in communities they operate in when they are willing to
listen to a variety of environmental and social issues that drive stakeholders’
attitudes. Treating each individual community problem the same way would
further the gap between organisations and the community. For Aristotle “the
creative tension that emerges from combinations of sharing and difference is
one of the essential features of community” (Yack, 1993, p.31). Thus,
recognising and addressing specific community issues and needs can contribute
to the organisation’s profitability, its image, its employer morale, and its
customer loyalty.

C. CCI through micro-funding

A very good example of corporate community
involvement (CCI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are the so-called
micro-funds that strive to bring a social and economic change to regions and
people most in need. Clearly, this effort does not target ostensible funding,
traditional donation or philanthropy. Rather, it contributes to the development
of entire economies and enables people to escape poverty. Many developing countries
cannot provide sufficient funding, which leaves potential entrepreneurs out in
the rain simply because they lack sorely needed financing to realise their
projects. The founding father was Muhammad Yunus who developed the concept of micro-credits

that enabled entrepreneurs to receive loans even though they did not qualify for by
general bank standards due to their poverty. Increasingly, organisations and
politicians pay attention to the concept of micro-funding.

However,
not only huge corporations can contribute to these long-term sustainable
solutions, as this video impressively shows.

However,
what organisations expect from public relations consultants is to monitor
successful long-term relationships with communities in order to allow vital
interaction among each other. In order to peacefully co-exist within the
community three skills seem to be essential. Communication professionals need
to determine what the community knows and thinks about the organisation.
Further, they need to inform the community of the organisation’s goals and
strategies and constantly keep up the flow of information to allow the
community to actively participate and maintain relations. Finally, public
relations practitioners need to negotiate and mediate between the organisation
and the community if different viewpoints arise that could potentially convulse
their relationship. With this new openness as a strategy, the organisation will
clearly position itself not only as financially successful, but also as loyal
and trustworthy.

D. References

Cairncross,
F. (2001). The Death Of Distance 2.0: How
The Communications Revolution Will Change Our Lives. New York, NY: TEXERE
Publishing Limited.

“Synthetic serendipity doesn’t just happen. By golly, you must create it.”

- Vinge, V. (2006). Rainbows End: A Novel With One Foot Set In The Future

A. Introduction

One of the most significant current discussions in philosophy, social science, the gaming industry and mass communication is the evolution of ‘collective intelligence’ (CI) and its underlying question of how to create a network that facilitates global exchange of information. CI can be defined as a form of shared intelligence that results from collaboration of individuals. Based on the notion of Marshall McLuhan (1964)that electronic
technologies create a ‘global village’, Levy predicts that the [Internet]
network should “mobilise and coordinate the intelligence, experience…and
imagination of humanity in new and unexpected ways” (1997, p.32). His
futuristic notion is that as online communities participatory share and
evaluate information they will mobilise a collective expertise to improve
decisions and further innovation to help creating a better future through
shared wisdom.

B. The Internet
as a platform

Using the Internet as a social
network of globally provided information seems compelling, however,
difficulties could arise when an attempt is made to implement CI into the
everyday policy of organisations. Assuming a company could manage to
incorporate these strategies such as social networks, the question still
remains whether biased individuals might influence the whole network to a
degree where it eventually fails. The outcome would be devastating if
organisations – or society – gave up on individual resources and expertise. In The Wisdom Of Crowds Surowiecki (2005)
draws the conclusion that a lack of independence leads to biased information.
The more the damaged network is used and knowledge is imitated without any
objective evaluation the fewer problems can be solved. His ideal collective
network comprises anonymously produced data where wisdom emerges through a
large contribution of information from individuals without any influence or
personal opinion.

On the other hand, Levy’s (1997)
model of CI strives for a consensus understanding based on a shared and
evaluated knowledge, but doubt continues to exist that there is no guarantee
that everyone can actually access the network. Jenkins states in Convergence Culture, “we are just
learning how to exercise that power [and develop skills], individually and
collectively, and fighting to define the terms under which we will be allowed
to participate” (2008, p.245).

Clearly, the leading thought behind
CI is that interactive networks will provide experts and stakeholders a
platform to participate. It creates some sort of self for group communication
that catalyses coordination, creativity and innovation, which enables
organisations to be more effective. The implications for Public Relations (PR)
are various and range from advanced research, investor relations, global
communications, and crisis communication to corporate communication with an
application on different levels such as internal sharing and external sharing
with customers and suppliers. In the following section emphasis will be put on
Media Relations and the use of social media with its key advantages and key
issues.

C. Implications
for Media Relations

With the help of social media any
business can attract a lot of traffic and increase its online visibility
(Network Effect). Further, businesses that engage in a dialogue with their
stakeholders through social media can enhance their brand image, reputation and
loyalty. Compared to traditional media social media provide cost effectiveness
and have a more precise impact on its audiences. Engaging interest groups
through social networking makes it easier for organisations to gather useful
customer feedback, which then leads to the innovation of products and services
that take the needs and demands of consumers into account. Finally, every
organisation can benefit from the tool of CI, be it some knowledge about a
particular target audience or some information about a certain market product.
The following video shows an example of how CI could work.

One of the key issues of
social media networks is the lack of control. Since everyone in the social
sphere has a voice it will be a challenge to exert control. However, with the
help of effective monitoring and evaluation conversation can be inspired and
influenced. Another key issue of social media is negative publicity. Since
businesses have little control over online conversations they can attract some
negative coverage from their stakeholders. However, if spotted and responded in
a timely manner, as in the food case of Virgin, social media can act as a great
reputation management tool. It can enhance the two-way communication flow
between consumers and the organisations and provide both parties a platform to
share ideas, solve issues and foster innovation.

In closing, social media has given
birth to a new global culture of convergence. People around the world are using
this technology to access and share information. Incorporating social media
networks into PR programming will give practitioners the opportunity to craft
relevant messages and provide them in the right time at the right place and in
the format as desired by stakeholders. If organisations see the potential of
social networking and how to actively involve audiences into their business
models they will invigorate and establish their brand.